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The Julian Alps, spanning the border between Slovenia and Italy, are a remarkable example of transboundary cooperation in biodiversity conservation. The interviews and focus group we organized with the main stakeholders in the area allowed the TRANSNATURE consortium to uncover the main characteristics of this transboundary cooperation.

The numerous positive effects of hiking and the experiential quality of the natural environment encourage an increase in the number of hikers. Despite several counters established in the Triglav National Park, there is no systematic monitoring of visitors in the Julian Alps. In this study, we identify visitor concentrations at hotspots in the Julian Alps, area of Triglav national park,based on spatial analysis with Strava data.

This time, Feel Slovenia the Podcast explores Triglav National Park, Slovenia's only national park. The episode celebrates the park's 100th anniversary, highlighting its significance as a protected landscape under UNESCO. The focus is on responsible and sustainable tourism, with emphasis on Mount Triglav, Slovenia's highest peak. Various guests share their experiences and insights, including climbers, comedians, authors, and tourism directors, discussing the symbolism of Triglav and the park's trails. With laughter, awe, and wisdom, the episode promotes mutual respect between tourists and locals, emphasizing the park's role in balancing nature conservation and tourism.

A major feature of the Anthropocene is the drastic increase in global soil erosion. Soil erosion is threatening Earth habitability not only as soils are an essential component of the Earth system but also because societies depend on soils. However, proper quantification of the impact of human activities on erosion over thousands of years is still lacking. This is particularly crucial in mountainous areas, where the highest erosion rates are recorded. Here we use the Lake Bourget catchment, one of the largest in the European Alps, to estimate quantitatively the impact of human activities on erosion. Based on a multi-proxy, source-to-sink approach relying on isotopic geochemistry, we discriminate the effects of climate fluctuations from those of human activities on erosion over the last 10,000 years. We demonstrate that until 3800 years ago, climate is the only driver of erosion. From that time on, climate alone cannot explain the measured rates of erosion. Thanks to an unprecedented regional paleoenvironmental reconstruction, we highlight that the development of pastoralism at high altitudes from the Bronze Age onwards and the extension of agriculture starting in the Middle Ages were key factors in the drastic increase in erosion observed in the Alps.

Acidophytic alpine mat-grass swards are rare in the alpine belt of the predominantly calcareous Southeastern Alps of Slovenia, mostly occurring where limestone is admixed with marlstone or chert. Those for which we were able to make phytosociological relevés can be classified mainly into two syntaxa: Carici curvulae-Nardetum strictae vaccinietosum gaultherioidis and Sieversio-Nardetum strictae vaccinietosum. At slightly lower elevations, in the forest zone of the subalpine plateau Pokljuka, we found similar swards occupying small areas in frost hollows with luvisol on limestone. They include character species of various subalpine-alpine sward and snow bed communities and are classified into the syntaxon Homogyno alpinae-Nardetum scorzoneroidetosum croceae.

Plant communities of several moss-rich calcareous water springs in the subalpine and alpine belt of the Julian Alps were phytosociologicaly investigated. Based on the comparison with similar communities in other parts of the Alps we classify them into the new association Saxifrago robustae-Palustrielletum commutati and in to two subassociations: -violetosum biflorae (mostly in the subalpine belt) and -saxifragetosum sedoidis (mostly in the alpine belt). Stands of described community belong to Natura 2000 habitat type Petrifying springs with tufa formation (Cratoneurion). For now they are mostly not directly threatened by man.

We conducted a phytosociological investigation of the sites of Carex bicolor on the only known localities of this species in the Julian Alps, in the upper part of the Triglav Lakes Valley. Carex bicolor was recorded in different alpine communities, most of which belong to the class Scheuchzerio-Caricetea fuscae and order Caricetalia davallianae. We described a new association Caricetum bicolori-frigidae, which is classified into the alliance Caricion atrofusco-saxatilis and is for now the only community of this alliance in Slovenia.

The article describes new localities of two rare species of conservation importance of Slovenian flora in the southern julian alps (the tolmin-bohinj and Krn Mts.). The stands of the Mediterranean species Adiantum capillus-veneris in Kneška grapa gorge under Mt. Masovnik (Kneške Ravne) at elevations 570–600 m are assigned to the new variant Eucladio-Adiantetum hymenostylietosum recurvirostri var. Astrantia carniolica. Moehringia villosa, an endemic species of european conservation importance, has its north- westernmost locality in its entire distribution range at curk waterfall in the spring area of the Kozjak under Mt. Krnčica, where it occurs in the stands of the variant Campanulo carnicae-Moehringietum villosae var. Paederota lutea.

Using hierarchical clustering with unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) we arranged 603 phytosociological relevés of beech forests on the present upper forest line, mainly from the Julian Alps and the Trnovo Forest Plateau (we also included the relevés from the Karawanks and the Kamnik Alps), into 32 clusters. Based on their analysis and comparison with previously described similar (alti)montane-subalpine beech communities we classified most of the relevés into the association Polysticho lonchitis-Fagetum and its new subassociations ericetosum carneae, cardaminetosum trifoliae, luzuletosum niveae, luzuletosum luzuloidis, calamagrostietosum variae, allietosum victorialis, adoxetosum moschatellinae, stellarietosum nemorum and several new variants. The altitude of the studied stands is predominantly 1400 to 1550 m (the upper line is at 1660 m); they occur at all aspects, frequently on steep and very steep slopes, mainly on limestone and dolomite limestone, the predominant soil type is rendzina. These stands are species rich (on average 61 species per relevé, altogether more than 500 vascular plants) and have many species in common with the stands of associations Rhododendro hirsuti-Fagetum and Rhodothamno-Laricetum.

In already known localities in the Julian Alps (Mangart, Malo Polje, Zeleno Jezero, Blehe under Šoštar) and in several new ones (Loška Koritnica, Bavh, Spodnji Lepoč, Mlinarica, Konjska planina, Mali Babanski Skedenj) we inventoried the stands along the subalpine-alpine springs and spring areas where Carex frigida frequently occurs as the predominant vascular plant. We classified them into the following associations: Saxifrago aizoidis-Caricetum ferrugineae, Caricetum davallianae s. lat., Ranunculo traunfellneri-Paederotetum luteae, Carici frigidae-Petasitetum albi (alliance Adenostylion alliariae) and Palustriello decipientis- Caricetum frigidae (alliance Cratoneurion). The latter two were described as new. Based on comparisons with similar communities along mountain springs we discussed the most appropriate classification of the latter into higher syntaxonomic units.

In the alpine belt of the Julian Alps (glacial cirque Na Jezerih under Mt. Veliki Rokav, Jarečica, the Mangart Saddle and Prodi under Mt. Mangart as well as Mt. Plešivec in the rock wall of Loška Stena) we studied the phytosociology and ecology of snow-bed vegetation with dominating flowering plants Salix herbacea, Luzula alpinopilosa, Gnaphalium supinum, Soldanella pusilla and Salix retusa, and numerous moss species. Based on the comparison with similar snow-bed communities in the Central, Eastern and Southern Alps we described a new association Salicetum retuso-herbaceae and classified it into the alliance Salicion herbaceae and class Salicetea herbaceae. We determined several successional stages of snow-bed vegetation on mixed calcareous-silicate bedrock that we treat as variants, in two relevés also the initial association Polytrichetum sexangularis.

Using the (unweighted) average linkage clustering (UPGMA) method we classified 458 phytosociological relevés of Larix decidua forests in the Southeastern Alps into 25 clusters. Based on their analysis we described the following new subassociations: Rhodothamno-Laricetum deciduae geetosum rivalis, sorbetosum chamaemespili, piceetosum abietis, adoxetosum moschatellinae, cystopteridetosum fragilis, cyclaminetosum purpurascentis, dryadetosum octopetalae and sorbetosum ariae. The selected method proved adequate in identifying the differences between larch stands on potential subalpine spruce and beech sites, and larch forests on the upper forest line, as well as the differences between initial larch stages on the upper forest line and more stable development stages on better developed soils on promontories and ledges above the upper beech forest line. Larch forests occur mainly in the altitudinal belt between (1,500) 1,600 and 1,800 (1,900) m, on shady aspects and slopes that are steeper than 30°. They are some of the best preserved forest types in the Southeastern Alps, on smaller surface areas (Macesnje above the Beli Potok valley in the Julian Alps) even virgin forests, and their role as biotopes is exceptional.